Zero Waste in the Community

‘It will mean a lot less goes to landfill, which is, therefore making our communities happier and healthier.’

In December 2016, Zero Waste in the Community founders, Charlotte and Anna made a New Years Resolution to try a year living zero waste. They started to document their successes and failures in a blog ‘A Zero Waste Life’, which shares tips and advice for living zero waste with up to 1,000 views each month.

What is Zero Waste in the Community?

The not-for-profit organisation, Zero Waste in the Community, was formed out of the realisation that living a zero waste life is near impossible for many people due to financial restraints and lack of knowledge.

Birmingham is one of the worst cities for recycling their waste. Zero Waste in the Community aims to lessen the dependency on sending waste to landfill or incineration by offering alternative solutions that reuse or reduce waste. Zero Waste in the Community has also identified that it is very difficult to buy plastic-free produce in Birmingham.

Zero Waste in the Community’s project ‘Fungi Feast’ will provide solutions to these problems. Local cafes and restaurants currently have to pay additional fees to have their organic waste disposed of, so it currently goes to Birmingham’s incinerator. Zero Waste in the Community collects spent coffee grounds from cafes around Birmingham for free, and then re-purposes them as soil fertiliser. The coffee grounds provide the perfect environment for growing mushrooms, which can then be sold back to cafes, farmers markets or whole food shops, reinvesting the profits back into the organisation.

The project will also have a positive impact on Birmingham’s environment, reducing dependency on single use plastics and reusing the coffee that often ends up in landfill.

If successful, what will you use your LoveBrum funding for?

£2,000 would allow Zero Waste in the Community to buy a storage container and use this as a location for growing the mushrooms, which means an increase in the yields of mushrooms being produced.

By increasing the amount of mushrooms it produces, Zero Waste in the Community will be able to help more people across Birmingham reduce their household waste.

Cost of project

£2,000

Where can people go to find out more about Zero Waste in the Community?